It was the mid-1960s and Nicholas 鈥淣ick鈥� Donofrio G鈥�71, H鈥�11 described it as a 鈥済reat time鈥� for electrical engineers. They were in huge demand and the young graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute took a job at IBM in Poughkeepsie, New York. That鈥檚 where he was introduced to 黑料不打烊. The University offered an extension program at IBM, sending professors to the Hudson Valley offices to provide graduate courses on site to full-time employees.
The bond between Donofrio and 黑料不打烊 grew so strong that it inspired his service and philanthropy, as he saw opportunities to help new generations of students with generous gifts that went beyond dollars.
鈥淭hey brought opportunity directly to me,鈥� says Donofrio. 黑料不打烊 professors understood that those IBM engineers needed to keep up with the latest research to be prepared to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they knew the future any better than anybody else, but I think they knew change better than anybody else and they were committed to preparing us for change.鈥� Donofrio completed a master鈥檚 degree in a few years, furthering his knowledge of circuit and chip and computer design theory and enabling him to remain on the leading edge of integrated chip design development.
Donofrio spent 44 years at IBM, working his way up to become executive vice president of innovation and technology. But it was those early days that helped lay the foundation for his thinking on innovation and his philanthropic gifts to 黑料不打烊, where he is a life trustee of the Board of Trustees. He was truly inspired by the fact that the University brought opportunity to him and other talent, encouraging lifelong learning. Unfortunately, he says, today鈥檚 higher education price tag limits opportunities for diverse talent鈥攅specially students from underrepresented groups鈥攁nd Donofrio dedicates his philanthropy to changing that because he is convinced that innovation requires diversity of thought and experiences. He says diversity is 鈥渢he underpinning of innovation in any industry鈥攁nd crucial to our ability to compete on a global scale.鈥�
In an published earlier this year by the National Academy of Engineering, he wrote that 鈥渋nnovation doesn鈥檛 just 鈥榟appen.鈥� It is enabled by environments and organizations that foster open, collaborative, inclusive, multidisciplinary thinking and working. Time and again, I have been reminded that the more open and inclusive the team, the more successful it is鈥攂ecause nobody knows in advance which team member is going to supply a critical piece of the value puzzle.鈥�
鈥淭his is a particularly vexing problem in technology and the STEM disciplines,鈥� says Donofrio. 鈥淲e are very weak on diversity, gender diversity and people of color diversity. As hard and as long as we have been working to address the issues here, progress as measured by numbers has been grudgingly modest.鈥�
With a recent generous gift to the , Donofrio is building upon a program he inspired several years ago. In 2012, his philanthropy established the Donofrio Scholars program in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS), providing scholarships to students of promise from diverse backgrounds for SummerStart, a six-week session to smooth the transition from high school to college for newly admitted students by giving them an opportunity to become familiar with the University鈥檚 academic, social and cultural life.
The Donofrio Scholars program evolved into the ECS Ambassadors program, which provides first-year students with stipends, membership to a professional society, tutoring, career mentoring with alumni and a summer internship. In their second year, students serve as ambassadors to K-12 students in 黑料不打烊 city schools鈥攖utoring, mentoring and engaging students in fun engineering and computing projects鈥攁nd helping to establish a pathway for youngsters to pursue STEM careers.
These programs are clearly working, with Donofrio-funded scholars succeeding well beyond statistical expectations鈥攚ith retention rates at 93%, graduation rates at 100% and career success awaiting.
鈥淣ick鈥檚 passion for bringing opportunity to talented engineers and computer scientists is fully evident throughout his career. His gift is another example of his commitment and remarkable impact,鈥� says J. Cole Smith, ECS dean. 鈥淭he programs that his gift supports will strengthen our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in every aspect of a student鈥檚 experience. By focusing on supporting underrepresented groups in and out of the classroom, Nick will continue mentoring the next generation of STEM leaders.鈥�
ECS was recently awarded bronze level status from the American Society for Engineering Education鈥檚 (ASEE) Diversity Recognition Program. The program鈥檚 goal鈥攁ligned with Donofrio鈥檚 goals鈥攊s to help promote diversity, equity and inclusion in member colleges and in the professional world.
Donofrio is now writing a book called 鈥淚f Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes鈥� and he says he鈥檚 running out of patience. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to be patient at my age. I want to finish the work I started,鈥� says Donofrio who believes that 鈥渢alent abounds everywhere鈥� without regard to gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity or nationality. He intends for his philanthropy to help ECS recognize, recruit and support diverse talent and provide opportunities and options for them to thrive鈥攖hroughout the college.
鈥淭hey are going to graduate and go to work as technically enlightened people,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey are also going to be more innovative than anybody else. They are going to graduate as better people, fit for the rest of their lives.鈥�
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